Townsend, Tennessee - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina

Welcome to the Fishing Report. What a beautiful morning it is in Townsend. The temperature is 66 degrees. It is overcast and foggy. I went down to check the rain gauge and ran into Rob Fightmaster. He was meeting some guide clients here. We chatted for a while. He and I grew up in the same area in Kentucky. He’s from Lexington and I was raised in Richmond, 35 miles away.

Traffic was light this morning. It was early so I didn’t expect much. I stopped at the River and it looked perfect. Some storms blew through East Tennessee last yesterday but they missed us and the Little River watershed in the Smokies. The airport reported another half inch during the past 24 hours.

This morning the flow is right at median. Flow is 125 cubic feet per second (cfs). Median flow for this date is 125 cfs. The water temperature this morning is 69.4 degrees and the water is clear in town.

This is going to be a perfect day to fish in the Smokies. Rain is not expected. There will be sunshine and a high in the lower 89’s. Tonight the temperature will drop into the 50’s. Tomorrow morning will feel like a Fall day.

All prongs of the Little River should be fishing well today. My first choice would be above Elkmont but with the cooler water you should do well in lower elevations. The Middle Prong should also be fishing well. The West Prong should be fishing well. You will find some downed trees in all three prongs left over from the storm on July 5th.

I would start with nymphs or a dry fly with a nymph as a dropper. I would tend to use terrestrials, like a black beetle with a bright back so I can see it. For a nymphs my first choice would be a Green Weenie. But, the trout many be looking for aquatic insects too so a Prince Nymph or a Bead Head Pheasant Tail will work.

It is time to start ordering tackle for 2013. This year has flown by. In September and October we make decisions about what to order for the coming year. We place the orders early and by making a commitment, we get better pricing. I am meeting with Dave from Simms on Monday. Raz from Sage and other companies will be here the next week. I’m sure Robert from Orvis will be visiting us soon. Park will be coming soon. It’s that time of year and it requires a lot of work and research to get these orders done.

Our new Smokies Streams T-shirt was shipped from the printer in Nashville yesterday. There will be about 150 of them arriving Monday. On Tuesday they will go to embroidery in Maryville. I hope to get them back and on the shelves the following week. Next will be the new “Townsend T”. I hope to have that one for sale in mid-September when the Fall visitors start pouring in.

Our town could use a good Fall tourist season. The tourism businesses had a tough July. The Townsend Park entrance was closed for a few days due to that storm. That didn’t help. July was also the hottest month on record in the United States. That didn’t help either. Looking ahead at the weather, if the predictions hold true, it is going to be cooler for the next 10 days. That will be good for visitation and fishing.

You should be here today. Actually you should be on the river right now. Tomorrow morning will be spectacular at least from a “comfort” point of view. I’m sure the trout will be active as well.